Adjustable ventilating louver



Aug. 24, 1965 G. A. VIEHMANN ADJUSTABLE VENTILATING LOUVER 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 17, 1962 INVENTOR,

GEORGE A. VIEHMAN N 140 4 ATTORNEYS his Aug. 24, 1965 G. A. VIEHMANNADJUSTABLE VENTILATING LOUVER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 17, 1962 If NU" INVENTOR.

GEORGE A.VIEHMANN FIG 3 ATTORNEYS his Aug. 24, 1965 Filed Aug. 17, 1962G. A- VIEHMANN IHI ADJUS TABLE VENT ILATING LOUVER 3 SheetsSheet 3INVENTOR. GEORGE A. VIEHMANN Ina M EQMQL A TTOR/VE Y5 United StatesPatent sncacsz ADJUSTABLE VENTlLATING LGUVER George A. Viehmann, NewProvidence, NJ, assrgnor to Construction Specialties, Inc., Cranford,N..I., a corporation of New .Iersey Filed Aug. 17, 1962, Ser. No.217,644 12 Claims. (Cl. 98--88) This invention rel-ates to ventilatingdevices incorporating louvers or jalousics and, more particularly, toimproved structures to facilitate the assembly and operation ofventilating louvers.

Ventilating louvers generally comprise a number of adjustable bladessecured in a frame installed on the outside of a wall or door and asecond frame around the opening on the inside of the wall. The framesare often separately attached to the wall surfaces around the opening orare installed by connecting the inner and outer frames by means ofscrews drawing the frames together and bringing flanges on each frametightly against the Wall surfaces. When separately fastened to the wallsurfaces, installation is laborious and expensive, particularly in brickor concrete walls. When fastened together, lugs usually riveted, weldedor bolted to the frame must be provided to receive screws or bolts fromthe other frame. 111 addition to expense and labor, the lugs often areinefllciently connected and may loosen when subjected to vibration orstress.

Further, the louver blades are often pivoted in the frame by elementsbolted, welded, riveted, or formed integrally .with the blades, such asby stamping, which makes assembly of the ventilator complicated andexpensive. These pivot arrangements often fall under stress,particularly where the louver doors are used with exhaust fans or wherethere are high winds.

The present invention overcomes the disadvantages inherent in the priorventilating louvers by providing improved pivot members to mount aplurality of louver blades in a first frame. To attach the pivot membersto the blades, .a longitudinal boss on each blade receives a primary pinextending from the pivot member. A pair of secondary pins on the pivotmember bear against the surface of the blade on opposite sides of theboss. To secure the pivot member in the frame, and provide simultaneouspivoting of the blades, one of two pivot member axles extends into anopening in the frame, while a second axle is inserted into .a hole in anactuating bar which extends along the inside of the frame.

A second frame is fastened to the first frame by fasteners secured toclips attached to the first frame. Each clip consists of oppositelydirected plates and a fastener receiving portion projecting laterallyfrom the plates. The end of one of the plates is received in a slot in aflange on the first frame, while the end of the other plate is in forcedcontact with a second parallel flange on the first frame.

These and further advantages of the invention will be more readilyunderstood when the following description is read in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a complete ventilating louver installed in awall;

FIGURE 2 is a view in section somewhat enlarged, taken along the line 22of FIGURE 1 FIGURE 3 is a side view showing a partially disassembledventilating louver in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 4 is a long longitudinal section, somewhat enlarged, taken alongthe view line 4- 4 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a partial sectional view, greatly enlarged, taken along theline 5 5 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a partial sectional View taken along the line 6-6 of FIGURE2, with a portion of a louver blade boss cut away to reveal a pivotmember connected to the louver blade;

FIGURES 7 and 8 are isometric views taken from two different directionsof a snap-in clip; and

FIGURE 9 is an isometric view of the louver blade pivot member.

For purposes of description, 21 ventilating louver 10 suitable forinstallation in a wall or door 1 1, as illustrated in EIGURE 1, ispresented. As best shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the ventilator comprises anoutside frame 1-2, a plurality of louver blades 13 mounted in theoutside frame, and an inside frame 14. The frames shown are fabricatedfrom extrusions 14a and 12a joined by angle pieces 15 with crimpedconnections 16 between the extrusions and the angle pieces.

When installed, the inside frame 14 is connected to the outside frame 12by means of fasteners 17 secured to clips 18. The clips, best shown inFIGURES 7 and 8, each consists of an L-shaped plate 19 and an oppositelydirected plate 20 integral with the upper edge of the plate 19. Afastener receiving portion 23 having a tapped hole .22 also is unitedwith the upper edge of the L- shapcd plate 19 and overlies the lowerlaterally extending portion of the plate forming a slot 21 therebetween.A V-shaped groove 23a in the fastener receiving portion 23 aids infinding the hole during installation.

The clip 18 is fabricated with the plate 20 angularly disposed to theL-shaped plate 19, as shown in FIG- URES 7 and 8. To install the clip inthe outside frame, as shown in FIGURE 5, the laterally extending portionof the L-shaped clip plate 19 is forced into a slot 24 formed between aflange Z5 and a web 27 on the outside frame 12. A flange 26 on theinside frame 14 telescopes over the flange and extends into the slot 21.The other plate it is then driven toward the web 27 with its edge 29jammed downwardly into contact with a second flange 28 on the outsideframe, thereby compressing the plate 20 between the second flange 2 3and the slot 2 and wedging the clip 18 into place on the frame 12. Atransverse groove ZSA may be provided in the plate 20 to facilitatebending. Additionally, the edge 29 of the plate 2i? may be serrated toprovide a rough surface to grip the flange 28.

The clips 18 may advantageously be made by cutting an extruded shape ofproper cross-section to predetermined lengths, or they may be forged orcast. Aluminum is well-suited as a material for the clips because of itsductility and resistance to corrosion.

Referring to FIGURES 5, 6, and 9, the louver blades 13 are rotatablymounted in the outside frame 12 by means of a pivot member 30 A plate 31forming the body of the pivot member carries a primary mounting pin 32and two secondary mounting pin-s 33 and 34 extending laterally from onesurface of the plate. The primary mounting pin is received in a boss 35on the blade .13, and the secondary mounting pins bear against thesurface of the blade on either side of the boss. I The mounting pinsengage the boss and blade tightly so that the pivot member St issecurely attached to the blade A web 36 may advantageously be addedbetween the primary pin 32 and one of the secondary mounting pins tostrengthen the pivot member. In the illustrated embodiment, a generallyC-shaped boss 35 is provided on the blade. 13, as shown in FIGURE 5,with the end of the boss spaced from the blade to accommodate the web36.

Projecting laterally from the surface of the plate 3 opposite from themounting pins 32, 33, and 34 are a longer axle 3'7 and a shorter axle38. The longer axle 37 is inserted into a hole 39 in the side of theoutside frame 1 2, as shown in FIGURES 3 and 6. The shorter an axleserves to connect the l3 and pivot member 34) to an actuating bar 40(FIGURE 5 1 The pivot member may be a one piece casting faoricated of asuitable casting metal. Further, the louver blades 13 will have pivotarrangements at both ends, but the pivot pin described is generallyrequired at only one end. The end opposite from that having thedescribed pivot member may be mounted on a simple axle.

An operating handle ll mounted on the inside face of one of the louverblades 13, as shown in FIGURE 2, can be located in any convenientposition. Since the blades are linked together by the actuating bar ill,pivotal movement of the blade 13 to which the operating handle isattached necessarily results in similar movement of all blades. It isapparent that other means may be used to operate the actuating bar dilThe ventilating louver is readily installed by locating the outsideframe 12 and inside frame on opposite sides of the Wall opening. Thefasteners 17 are screwed 'into the tapped holes 22 in the fastenerreceiving portion 23 of the clip 18 and tightened to draw the framestogether. The flanges on the frames friotionally engage the wallsurfaces holding the ventilating louvers securely in place.

It is apparent that the invention provides a nu nber of advantages inthe assembly and installation of ventilating louvers. The single pivotmember 36 performs the functions of mounting the blades 13 in the frame12 and linking all the blades together to an actuating bar dtl.Moreover, the pivot member 39 is readily and securely attached tothelouver blade 13 without riveting, bolting or similar operationsrequired. The pivot member is panticularly adaptable to assembliesutilizing extruded blades, but may also be used with blades stamped fromsheet material. Further, the clips 18 by which the inside frame 14 issecured to the outside frame 12 are quickly and easily snapped intoplace by inserting the end of one plate into the slot formed by oneflange and driving the end of the other plate into place against theother flange.

It should be understood that the size, material and geometry of thefeatures described herein may be altered WithOIl't substantiallyaffecting their functions. Accordingly, the foregoing description shouldbe considered illustrative, and not as limiting the scope of thefollowing claims.

I claim:

'1. In a ventilating apparatus including a first frame carrying aplurality of pivotally mounted louver blades, a plurality of louverblade pivot members mounting the blades in the frame, each pivot memberincluding a plate, a primary mounting pin and two secondary mountingpins extending laterally from one side of the plate,

and first'and second axles extending laterally from the other side ofthe plate, a boss on one end of each louver blade receiving the primarypin with the secondary pins bearing against the blade on each side ofthe boss, openings in the first frame receiving the first axlesextending from the pivot members to mount the louver blades rota-tablyin the frame, an actuating bar extending along the inside of the frameperpendicular to the blades and formed with openings receiving thesecond axles of the pivot members, whereby the louver blades pivottogether, a pair of laterally spaced flanges on the first frame one ofwhich forms a slot with its opening facing the other flange, a secondframe, and a plurality of clips attaching the second'frame to the firstframe, each clip having oppositely directed plates and a fastenerreceiving portion projecting laterally from the plates, one of the clipplates being received by the slot on the flange of the first frame, theother of the clip plates being in contact with the other flange on thefirst frame, and fasteners extending through the second frame andanchored at the fastener receiving portion of the clip to hold theframes together,

:2. In ventilating apparatus including a first frame carrying aplurality of pivotally mounted louver blades, a plurality of louverblade pivot members mounting the blades in the frame, each pivot memberincluding a plate, a primary mounting pin and two secondary mountingpins extending laterally from one side of the plate, and first andsecond axles extending laterally from the other side of the .plate, aboss on each louver blade receivingthe primary pin with the secondarypins bearing against the blade on each side of the boss, openings in thefirst frame receiving the first axles extending from the pivot membarsto mount the louver blades rotatably in the frame, and an actuating barextending along the inside of the frame perpendicular to the blades andformed with openings to receive the second axles of the pivot members,whereby the louver blades pivot together.

3. Ventilating apparatus as defined in claim 2, where in a web joins theprimary and one of the secondary pins, and the boss is C-shaped.

4. A pivot member for mounting in a frame a blade formed with a bosscomprising a plate, a primary mounting pin and two secondary mountingpins extending laterally from one side of the plate, the primarymounting pin adapted to be inserted in the boss on the blade, thesecondary pins adapted to bear against the surface of the blade oneither side of the boss, and first and second axles extending laterallyfrom the other side of the plate to secure the blade rotatably to theframe.

5. In a connector fora ventilating device having a first frame memberhaving an outwardly projecting peripheral flange at one side thereof anda reversely bent peripheral flange at its opposite side thereof defininga peripheral groove facing toward said outwardly projecting flange and asecond frame member telescopically receiving said reversely bent flangeand having an outwardly projecting peripheral flange, the combination ofthreaded fastening elements extending through the peripheral flange ofsaid second frame member, a plurality of clip members each having anL-shaped plate having one portion thereof friction'ally engageable insaid groove and another portion extending outwardly beyond saidreversely bent flange, and means on said portion for receiving a saidthreaded fastening element to connect said frame members together.

6. The connector set forth in claim 5 in which said clip membercomprises a second plate portion extending from said another portion ofsaid L-shaped plate in a direction substantially opposite to said oneportion and bendable into engagement with said peripheral flange on saidfirst frame member.

7. The connector set forth in claim 5 comprising converging surfaces onsaid another portion of said clip member providing a V-shaped groove forguiding said fastening element into said means for receiving saidfastening element.

8. A pivot member for mounting a louver blade pivotally in a framecomprising a plate, a primary mounting pin and two secondary mountingpins extending outwardly from and substantially perpendicular to oneside of the plate for engaging and supporting said blade, and first andsecond substantially parallel axles extending from the other side of theplate in a direction opposite to said pins, one of said axles beingcoaxial with said primary mounting pin and forming a pivot for saidplate and blade.

9. The pivot as defined in claim 3 wherein a Web joins the primary pinand one of the secondary pins.

10. A clip for joining a pair of flanged frames comprising an L-shapedplate having a first leg and a second leg, a second plate formedintegrally with said L-shaped plate and united therewith at the outerend of said first leg and extending therefrom in the opposite directionfrom said second leg, and a fastener-receiving portion formed integrallywith said L-shaped plate and united 5 therewith at said outer end ofsaid first leg, said fastenerreceiving portion overlying said second legand defining a slot therewith and having threaded means thereon forreceiving a threaded fastening element. A

11. The clip set forth in claim 10 wherein said fastenerreceivingportion has V-shaped groove means formed therein to facilitate guidingthe fastening element into engagement with said threaded means.

12. Th clip set forth in claim 10 wherein said second plate hastransverse groove means formed therein ad- 10 3,055,461

jacent the end thereof at which it is united with said L-shaped plate tofacilitate bending said second plate relative to said L-shaped plate.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Jones 50-250 XSpicker et a1. 74-102 Raleigh 189-62 Germonprez 98-114 X Nelson 189-62 XHuff.

Hammitt et a1. 50-250 X Ridder 189-36 X ROBERT A. OLEARY, PrimaryExaminer. MEYER PERLIN, Examiner.

2. IN VENTILATING APPARATUS INCLUDING A FIRST FRAME CARRYING A PLURALITYOF PIVOTALLY MOUNTED LOUVER BLADES, A PLURALITY OF LOUVER BLADE PIVOTMEMBERS MOUNTING THE BLADES IN THE FRAME, EACH PIVOT MEMBER INCLUDING APLATE, A PRIMARY MOUNTING PIN AND TWO SECONDARY MOUNTING PINS EXTENDINGLATERALLY FROM ONE SIDE OF THE PLATE, AND FIRST AND SECOND AXLESEXTENDING LATERALLY FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PLATE, A BOSS ON EACHLOUVER BLADE RECEIVING THE PRIMARY PIN WITH THE SECONDARY PINS BEARINGAGAINST FRAME BLADE ON EACH SIDE OF THE BOSS, OPENINGS IN THE FIRSTFRAME RECEIVING THE FIRST AXLES EXTENDING FROM THE PIVOT MEMBERS TOMOUNT THE LOUVER BLADES ROTATABLY IN THE FRAME AND AN ACTUATING BAREXTENDING ALONG THE INSIDE OF THE FRAME PERPENDICULAR TO THE BLADES ANDFORMED WITH OPENINGS TO RECEIVE THE SECOND AXLES OF THE PIVOT MEMBERS,WHEREBY THE LOUVER BLADES PIVOT TOGETHER.